Southwest Airlines has just internally revealed details of an incident that occurred back in April 2024, which can only be described as a very close call.

Southwest 737 descends to 400 feet above ocean

This incident dates back to April 11, 2024, and involves Southwest Airlines flight WN2786, scheduled to operate from Honolulu (HNL) to Lihue (LIH). The short 102-mile flight was operated by a roughly two-year-old Boeing 737 MAX 8 with the registration code N8788L.

Interestingly this incident wasn’t investigated by authorities at the time. Instead, this safety incident was reported internally, and Southwest’s Director of Flight Safety Programs & Assurance recently sent a memo to all pilots about what happened, which is why this is now getting some publicity.

With this incident, a very senior captain and a very junior first officer were paired on a three-day trip to Hawaii. The flight from the mainland to Hawaii went well, and then on the second day they were supposed to operate some inter-island flights.

Before the first flight, the pilots saw that the weather conditions at Lihue Airport were bad (poor visibility, thunderstorms, strong winds, etc.), and many pilots of other aircraft were performing missed approaches. Nonetheless, the captain elected to have the first officer be the “pilot flying” on this sector, to build their experience.

The pilots were prepared for a potential go around, given that conditions at the departure airport were just above the “minimums” needed to land, so they were fully briefed on the correct procedures. Sure enough, when the aircraft approached runway 17, the pilots didn’t have the runway in sight, so the first officer called for a go around. Unfortunately this go around was anything but routine.

During the go around, the first officer inadvertently pushed forward on the control column. The first officer also noticed the red airspeed tape, and pulled back on the thrust levers. When you push forward the control column and reduce thrust, there’s only one direction the plane is going, and that’s down. The plane descended all the way down to 400 feet(!!!!) above the Pacific Ocean.

While the “DON’T SINK” and “PULL UP” warnings went off in the cockpit during this time, the first officer states they didn’t hear this due to intense task saturation.

Fortunately the captain noticed what was going on at this point, and told the first officer to climb and turn left, causing the first officer to aggressively increase thrust. The aircraft climbed, maxing out at a climb rate of 8,500 feet per minute, which is very high.

Once the situation stabilized, the pilots first entered a holding pattern, and then made the decision to return to Honolulu, where the plane landed just under 85 minutes after it first departed.

Once back on the ground in Honolulu, the captain consulted with the dispatcher, and made the decision to try flying to Lihue again, with the captain being the “pilot flying” this time. Interestingly, the first officer didn’t speak up against this at the time, but later said that they wish they had shared their desire not to try a second attempt.

The first officer stated that they didn’t speak up in order to maintain the integrity of Southwest’s operation, and also because regulatory requirements to operate were still being met. So the flight departed Honolulu again, but weather conditions deteriorated, so the aircraft ultimately returned to Honolulu a second time.

@jonostrower published the full letter that Southwest shared internally with pilots regarding the incident, which is some fascinating reading.

I’m curious what’s learned from this event

It goes without saying that this event was terrifying, and a close call. The aircraft descended all the way down to 400 feet with virtually no visibility, so the plane was literally seconds from being in the Pacific Ocean. Fortunately this had a good ending for all involved.

There’s something to be learned from every aviation incident. Both pilots participated in a human factors interview following the flight, and stated that “seeing the severity of the event through the animations was a significant, emotional event.” The pilots also participated in comprehensive, corrective action, including Line Experience.

It’s way beyond my area of expertise to judge what happened here. It’s common for senior captains to be paired with junior officers (especially given how airline hiring has evolved in recent years), and it’s also important for newer pilots to gain experience with difficult situations, under close supervision.

What’s at least reassuring here is how transparently Southwest is communicating internally regarding this incident, and the fact that the pilots voluntarily reported what happened. That’s ultimately how aviation becomes safer.

Bottom line

A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 had a close call in Hawaii back in April, while trying to land in Lihue during a storm. A junior first officer was flying, and executed a go around. Somehow the first officer inadvertently pushed the control column down while also reducing thrust, causing the jet to descend to an altitude of just 400 feet above sea level.

Once the error was realized, the pilots went to the opposite extreme, and the jet climbed at a speed of up to 8,500 feet per minute. Fortunately the pilots managed to divert the aircraft safely back to Honolulu, but my gosh, what an incident.

What do you make of this Southwest incident?